Millennial and Generation Z Christian influencers are increasingly filling a void in American religion by growing audiences across digital platforms, steering young people toward biblical answers to tough questions that are not always addressed in Sunday sermons, the Associated Press reported.
Megan Ashley, 35, a host of the “In Totality” podcast, described her role as someone who provides support throughout the week rather than only on Sundays. “I can be that in-between — Monday to Saturday help — to give you practical things to make you feel like you’re not walking this walk alone,” Ashley said while recording from a home setting.
Ashley and other influencers, according to the report, talk to listeners about anxieties and doubts and delve into what they describe as the Bible’s complexities. Lecrae Moore, a Christian rapper and podcaster, said their approach offers something that can change people. “What they’re making accessible is a truth that transforms people,” Moore said, adding, “There’s something that’s happening existentially — supernaturally — that I can’t explain.”
Arielle Reitsma, 36, co-host of the “Girls Gone Bible” podcast, said influencers can help listeners feel less alone, even when they acknowledge their own flaws. “We’re like, listen, we’re two mess-ups too. It’s OK,” Reitsma said. The report described “Girls Gone Bible” as drawing more than a million listens or streams each month.
Media scholars and critics, however, caution that expanding online reach can also expand influence faster than accountability. Zachary Sheldon, a Baylor University lecturer on media, religion and culture, said the work of exposing people to faith and prompting questions can be positive. “Exposing people to the faith and challenging them to ask questions and search for something more” are “really good things to do,” Sheldon said, while he pointed to “potential dangers in granting them too much authority on the basis of their celebrity and their acumen with social media.”
The AP report said the influencers encourage church attendance and describe reaching listeners who are increasingly disconnected from religion, citing Pew Research Center data that showed belief in God with certainty among people ages 18 to 35 fell to 41% in 2023-24 from 65% in 2007.
Some hosts say they are also bringing faith into in-person settings. At an Atlanta event, Reitsma and her co-host Angela Halili told hundreds of fans to avoid idolizing work or relationships, Bible in hand, and they recounted personal histories. Halili said God brought her “radical healing,” and she said she wants listeners to know God can perform “miracles” in their lives, too.
The report described audience members responding personally to the hosts. Anna Williams, 17, said she considers both Reitsma and Halili to be “a big sister” in her life, and described prayers offered after the event.
Influencers also say that Christian life can be difficult even as they teach biblical principles as guidance toward joy. Ashley said, “God ‘does make everything better, but that doesn’t always come in the way that we think it’s gonna come,’” and she described how her intensity increased after what she described as a healing encounter with God’s “severity” as a freshly divorced single mother plagued by suicidal thoughts and depression.
Other podcasts and creators cover different themes and pressures, including parenting and Black culture. “With the Perrys,” a podcast led by Jackie Hill Perry, 36, and Preston Perry, 39, is described in the report as blending Bible teaching with streetwear and spoken-word work. “It is the all — how do we do all of this stuff in this weird flesh and weird world?” Hill Perry said, and she also said, “God calls us to ruffle feathers sometimes, to speak to culture.”
The AP report also described criticism and pushback that can follow online ministry. It said Halili and Reitsma faced pushback for praying at a pre-inauguration rally for President Donald Trump. It also said the Perrys drew criticism from conservatives for discussing police brutality and racial injustice, and from liberals for expressing opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion.
Despite the online conflict, some listeners said the influencers feel more relatable than the pastors they grew up with. Olivia Singleton, 24, said she needed “someone who was a younger Black female portraying something that wasn’t super traditional,” and she said the influencers feel like “one of the girls … walking out the faith with you.”